


It is the East and Juliet is the Sun

by la_alta



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, First Love, Homeless Jughead, losing virginity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-09-30 07:44:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10157819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/la_alta/pseuds/la_alta
Summary: An excerpt on how Betty and Jughead learned the rewards of being vulnerable in the world destined to teach them otherwise.





	1. Falling

"Jug! Don't you dare let me fall!" 

"Trust me, Betts, I won't let you fall. It's just like when we were kids. Give me your other hand and walk up the trunk." Jughead Jones grabbed Betty Cooper's hands, keeping her steady as she walked up the trunk of the largest silver maple in Riverdale. As she got close, he slid an arm around her waist and settled her at the base of a large branch. 

"I got ya. You good?"

"Yep, thanks Juggie. I'm gonna get closer to the screen. You coming?"

"Nope, I'm good right here up against the trunk. Thanks anyway."

Betty shrugged - her blonde ponytail bobbing up and down. "Suit yourself." She wobbled a bit, and then crawled out, coming to a rest on her stomach. 

Jughead watched her crawl, slither, and lower herself onto the gigantic branch from his perch at the spine of the massive maple. He would be lying if he said he wasn't completely enthralled. He sat there, behind her, watching as the first scene of tonight's feature projected onto the side of the Riverdale Savings and Trust building, on the eastern edge of Pickens Park. Betty turned back to smile at him, her eyes sparkling with excitement, and gave him a wink. Jughead couldn't help but beam back at her. His cheeks growing hot, and his stomach filling with butterflies. There's no way Betty Cooper could know the effect that she has on him. There can be no way, because Jughead isn't sure himself until she gives him a look, or throws an affectionate arm around him. Then he knows, alright. He knows he would give his short life for her in a moment. He would walk on hot coals to see her smile. But there is no way that Betty, his lovely Betty, could know how much power she has.

She turns back to the movie. He tries his best to concentrate on it too, but his mind keeps wondering. Here in this tree all he can think about is how Betty Cooper has made him believe in miracles again. Something he stopped believing in the first time his dad left, and didn't return for three years. If Jughead Jones is the Moon -- coming alive at night, never still, full of phases and moods -- then Betty Cooper is most definitely the Sun. She's illuminating, and constant - reliable. She has the ability to give life by her mere presence, everyone aching to bask in her warmth. How is she here with him? How is he here with her? Yep, Jughead now believes in miracles again. 

It was a three weeks ago today that he lost both his tongue and composure, and instead of asking her out on a date, he caressed her face and gave her the most chaste of kisses. His hands never veered below her shoulders, his thumbs tracing soft lines onto her cheekbones, and their noses brushing ever so slightly. The kiss may have seemed simple, innocent even, but Jughead's hearing dissolved into nothing but faint ringing. The room spun, when he felt her lean into him as their lips touched, and he pulled away fearful he might collapse and ruin the whole thing. Since then life has been crazy with murder investigations and missing pregnant sisters but, it hasn't stopped their knowing glances in the hallways at Riverdale High. It didn't stop Betty from trying to hold his hand under the table at lunch. Jughead knows that no smart man would turn down Betty Cooper, and no sane man would let her go if he could get the chance to have her, so he had to keep the momentum going. He had to let her know, that he wanted more. So much more. Before he lost his chance - lost her - forever. 

How does a homeless kid, court America's sweetheart? Who on Earth is he fooling? In what world does the cheerleader go for the drifter? Jughead knew he was a resourceful guy - heck - he managed to stay homeless for nearly a year without anyone finding out. It will take every ounce of his creativity and discipline to make this work. If he was going to bring Betty into the fold of his life, he had to be consistent in covering his tracks. The days of being an open book died with his childhood. The Summers of him, Archie, and Betty running around the neighborhood for hours and collapsing in the Andrews's backyard were over. Things had been so simple then. Now families were falling apart, homes are being foreclosed on, and somehow Jughead's heart and groin have decided to team up to short circuit his brain when it's least convenient. So when a rare moment of clarity appeared at the thought of Betty Cooper, Jughead asked her to join him in seeing a showing of Rear Window at the park this weekend. As the date grew nearer, he realized he didn't even have a spare blanket for them - so to the tree they went. He took in the beautiful gold and orange leaves on the tree. "Well done, Jones," he thought.

From his perch near the tree's trunk he watched Betty as she watched the movie. There was so much he wanted to share with her. There was even more he wanted to learn from her. But now, in this moment, there were so many ways he wanted to touch her. The desire to touch was indescribable. His eyes followed from her slim crossed ankles, to her long legs, and her wonderfully round bottom. Good God, he was going to explode with want. With the need to take her in his arms and hold her. With the need to make her gasp, and whimper in pleasure at his hand. He wanted desperately to use every inch of his body to make her know how he felt about her - to remove all doubt from her mind. But tonight, he will happily settle for her smiles and perhaps another lovely kiss that he can take back with him to his make-shift bed in the Blue and Gold office.


	2. An He Calls Me Moonlight Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It might be a chilly, moonlit walk home but Betty is sufficiently warm.

"Re-Animator"

"Jug, you are really good at this!"

 

"I know. Your turn."

 

"Hmmm....The Shining."

 

"Sorry, Bets. The Shining wasn't out in the 80's."

 

"Yeah it was! Check it."

 

Betty watched as Jughead took his phone out of his pocket and tapped on the keys. A chilly breeze biting at her cheeks.

 

"Ouch. 1980. You were right. I can't believe I missed that one. I can't believe you know 80's horror movies better than I do."

 

Betty shrugged, and placed her hand on Jughead's shoulder. "I'm a woman of many talents." She watched as Jughead's cheeks reddened, and wondered what he was thinking in that moment. Strike that, she had a suspicion of what he was thinking and it was starting to make her insides warm a bit. It was the same sensation she felt during their first kiss in her bedroom.

Truthfully speaking, puberty had been good to Jughead Jones. He now stood at least five inches taller than Betty, making him the perfect height for his head to eclipse tonight's full moon when she looked up at him. The beams of light were radiating around his head like an eerie halo. Yes, puberty had been very good to Jughead Jones. With his creamy complexion, symmetrical face, and perfect teeth it was only a matter of time before Ethel Muggs wouldn't be the only girl staring at him dreamily in Biology class. If only the other aspects of his life had treated him as well as his hormones. With his family's never ending list of financial and substance abuse problems, she watched her sensitive childhood friend withdraw to his shell more and more. Each day he spent out of it with her was one she cherished.

 

There has never been a shortage of people who have felt no reservations about being vulnerable with Betty, but the list of people she could feel truly vulnerable with consisted of only one - Jughead Jones. Around Jughead, Betty felt confident and brave and a little selfish - and she loved it. The version of Betty Cooper that existed around Jughead Jones was the true Betty Cooper, and his support made it so much easier to let the world see who she was. Jughead Jones may be moody and temperamental, but at the end of the day he was the one who went with her to see her sister in that awful institution. He was the one who figured out that she was having a panic attack last week, and somehow managed to find a therapist for her that was willing to put their license on the line so that Betty could get the help she needed without her parents knowing. Jughead Jones may be cynical and sarcastic but at the end of the day he has had her back more times in three months than anyone has had in her life, and she thinks she just might be in love with him for that. Could she really be in love with him? The thought alone made her feel light -effervescent almost. She was suddenly filled with so much levity, she was sure it had to be beaming out of her.

 

As they continued their trek to her home, the sounds of Betty's giggling seemed to bounce off the houses. She jumped, and pirouetted, and even tried to kick her heels a few times.

 

"What has come over you?" Jughead bent down to ask her in a low whisper.

 

"Just happy," Betty said with a small grin and shrug, "With so much going on lately it's been hard to just feel happy, I guess. So I enjoy it when it happens. Hanging out with you makes it happen."

 

Jughead gave her a slight grin and reached to hold her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. As they continued to walk down the dimly lit street to her home, a comfortable silence fell over them.

"Juggie?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Can I ask what you were thinking about tonight? You hardly watched the movie. At one point I caught you looking up at the trees?" 

 

She felt his mood shift instantly with that question. She felt him start to go back in his shell. She couldn't let that happen, not now. She stopped them in the middle of the empty street. 

 

"Don't answer that,” she said, “we're at my house anyway." 

 

As her pulse began to quicken, she walked him to the side of the house in the shadows of the surrounding trees. There was no need for the neighborhood to know who she kissed in her free time. As the slivers of moonlight made its way through the tree branches to them, she made eye contact with Jughead and leaned against the side of her house. She looked up at him through her lashes, and grabbed both of his hands. "Jug, thanks for tonight. It was so perfect." 

 

She heard Jughead swallow hard. She was losing him. She looked at her shoes, and then back at him. "I really like us spending time like this."

 

"Me too, Betty" she heard his voice crack. 

 

This was it. Time for her to go for broke. "Jug, I really want to kiss you right now. Please kiss me, Jughead."

 

She could see his eyes grow wide, and then shift to a laser-like focus. And with that the moonlight disappeared as it was blocked by Jughead's tall frame. He placed one hand on the wall behind her, used his other to tip her chin up to him, and planted the softest kiss she could have imagined on her lips. Instinctively, she reached up and carded a hand through his hair bringing her body closer to his. And then something in Betty snapped. She cannot name exactly what it was, but the need for more was nearly drowning her. She used her other hand and put it on Jughead's hip pulling him towards her, moaning at the friction. She used her tongue to press at the seam of his lips - begging entry into his mouth. Jughead's entire body froze. She silently willed him to not pull away, to not leave her now that she'd bared this side of her. As if he heard her silent pleas, he slowly opened his mouth and allowed her tongue entry. As his own tongue reached out to greet hers, he used his weight to press her entire body against the siding of her house. For nearly 5 minutes, Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper were a writhing mess of tangled limbs and warring mouths - and it was glorious. Her nostrils were filled with his scent - a mixture of fresh soap and faint musk - and she secretly hoped that some of it would transfer onto her. She would take any part of him for herself that she could. As he leaned into her further while his mouth moved to her neck, Jughead's body made an unmistakable declaration of her effect on him. Now, it was Betty’s turn to freeze. Before she could do much else, Jughead quickly retreated. His face, red with embarrassment, he continued to take steps back until Betty grabbed his wrist. As if he'd forgotten that she was there, his eyes quickly met hers.

 

"Betty. I'm so sorry. I need to go."

 

"Jug, there's nothing to be sorry f-"

 

"I'll call you later, okay? I’m so sorry."

 

And before she could reply, he quickly dashed off into the night. The floodlights in Archie Andrews’s backyard were the only clue as to the direction he went.

 

Betty sighed, a little dazed. She calmly walked to her front door and let herself in. As she locked the door behind her, she leaned back against it reveling in the joy of having the house to herself for the weekend. Her mind went to Jughead again. How glorious the whole night had been, even if it had a surprising (and slightly embarrassing) ending. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone to send Jughead a message.

 

'i need u to know how hot it was to make out with you...we need to revisit this again soon'

She hit the send button, hung up her jacket, and headed up to her room.


	3. On the Run Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When your worlds collide, who will be there to help you pick up the pieces?

As Jughead slowed down from what was an all-out sprint a few seconds ago, he cursed inwardly. He couldn’t believe that his body would betray him like that. Things were going so well with him and Betty tonight. Things were going better, and at a faster pace, than he ever thought possible. Then this. A massive boner, while making out with the modern day Sandra Dee. He felt like such a creep. Just a few more steps to the school and he could call an end this disaster. As he rounded the corner, his phone buzzed in his jacket pocket. As he pulled it out to look, he noticed that it was from Betty. He held his breath, prepared to take being dumped like a man. Reading the text, he stopped  
dead in his tracks. What? She enjoyed that fiasco? Was she not at the same date that he was? Wait. She liked it. She likes him. Thoroughly confused, he knew he needed to sit down and think about how much he didn't understand women.

 

Approaching the got to the southernmost side of Riverdale High he hopped to the lip of the window of the dark Blue and Gold office, slid open the window he left unlocked, and leapt in. Landing inside of the room, he lost his balance and crashed onto his bottom in...water. Sitting in a pool of water nearly up to his chest, he struggled to find his footing - eventually using a desk for leverage. It was too dark to be sure what was happening, but it was clear that the office was flooded. Perhaps the entire first floor of the school. He made his way through the water to quickly claim his book bag that was sitting on the back of the sofa. He praised his luck that he didn’t leave it on the seat of the sofa, as his bag and laptop would have suffered the same soggy fate that the sofa cushions did. Afraid to turn on the lights in the office, he pulled open the door to the hallway to see what was causing the flood. Instead, all he saw was someone’s flashlight. As he turned to hide from view he heard someone call out.

 

“Hey! Who’s there?!”

 

Before he could answer he felt a sharp blow to his side. Doubled over in pain and struggling to catch his breath, he heard the sloshing sound of the owner of the voice coming towards him. A strong stench of alcohol filled his nostrils, as he looked around for the person who landed the punch to his side. With the owner of the flashlight now right near him he swerved again. With the light there, he could now see clearly who called out to him. Leroy, one of the members of his dad’s gang.

 

“Oh, that’s just Forsythe’s boy. He’s cool. His dad taught me everything I know about stripping copper from buildings like these. Let’s get outta here.” 

 

“I don’t know, Leroy, he might be a friend of yours but he’s just a likely snitch to me. I guess I could leave him a souvenir so he doesn’t get any big ideas.”

 

Before, he could crouch or place an arm to protect himself, Leroy’s accomplice struck another blow to his right eye. The force was so strong he fell against the wall as he struggled to stay upright. Leroy bellowed out to his accomplice.

 

“John! Let’s go!”

 

And with that, his assailants left. Not waiting for them to return, Jughead ran back into the Blue and Gold office and out of the same window that served as his entrance earlier. For the second time that night Jughead Jones found himself in a open sprint, only this time holding his side. As he slumped to the ground near a tree, he began to shiver uncontrollably. His wet clothes stuck to his body in the cold air, and his head throbbed from the punch it took earlier. He had to get somewhere to collect himself. He needed to change, he needed to warm up, he needed to inspect his eye. He pulled his phone from his jacket and considered who he might call. Jughead understood that anyone he would call for help would effectively be privy to his homeless situation. He had to really think who he was willing to have this conversation with tonight. So essentially that left Archie and Betty. Archie was kind, but known to be flaky and self-centered. Not the person he needed tonight. So essentially that left the one person he already ran from tonight - Betty Cooper.

 

Jughead groaned through chattering teeth, and pulled up her number. It rang twice before she answered.

“Jughead! I can’t believe you ran off like that!”

“I’m sorry I did that, but, I need to ask you a favor. Can I use your dryer? I’ll explain when I get there.”

“Ummm...sure.”

 

And so began Jughead’s ten-minute walk back to the Coopers. As he got closer, he began to look for the Andrews’s ladder so he could climb to her window. As he was beginning to curse in both frustration and pain, the porch light to Betty’s home came on and its front door opened. He was relieved to find Betty Cooper standing there, wrapped in her pink bathrobe. She was the physical representation of everything he wasn’t feeling at the moment -happy, relaxed, attractive, dry. However, when she saw him make his way across her front yard, her expression changed drastically. She quickly became a burst of curious, caring energy, rushing out to her yard with her eyes and mouth wide open in both confusion and horror.

 

“Jughead, what happened! My God, are you okay! Your eye! You’re soaking wet! Why are you holding your side?!”

 

As if she had completely lost her senses, between each question she peppered him with such fervent kisses to his cheeks and mouth that he couldn't answer her if he tried. Finally, calming down, she grew silent. She held his face and looked into his eyes. What he saw in her face was not pity, or even second-hand embarrassment. Her large eyes seemed to convey one message only, “I’ve got you.” With that she placed his arm over her shoulder and walked him inside.

 

Admittedly, as he was walking to the Cooper’s residence he’d worked on a lie to tell Betty’s mother. He wasn’t proud of that fact, but there was little choice in the matter. Some things Alice Cooper didn’t need to know - journalist or not. To his relief, Hal and Alice Cooper were nowhere to be found. As Betty helped his shivering form to her kitchen, she placed his bag on the floor and began to help him remove his wet clothing.

 

“Ugh, Betty, if we remove these clothes I won’t have anything on.”

 

“Oh. Right. Yeah. Hold on.”

 

And with that she dashed up her stairs. Jughead looked around the kitchen, it seemed like such a warm home. Such a happy place. He scoffed, thinking how looks can be so deceiving. He was snapped back to reality when Betty appeared with a flannel pair of pajama pants.

 

“The laundry room is over there. Just take off everything, put them in the dryer, and put this on.” 

 

His teeth still chattering, he takes the pants from her and follows her directions. He emerges, a couple of minutes later dryer and somewhat warmer. 

 

She slides over a bag of frozen peas to him. “For your eye, Juggie.”

 

She observes him hold the bag up to his eye. Then, like a paranoid cat, she’s back up at the stove again.

 

“Bets, what are you doing?”

 

“I’m just making you some hot chocolate, it will warm you up.”

 

He considered protesting, but he was still too cold to do much of anything. She slid a steaming mug across the table to him and took a seat directly across from him. She peered at him for a minute as he swallowed the warm liquid. 

 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“Bets, I’m really sorry about that. It’s just that things were getting really hot and heavy. What can I say, my bo-”

 

“I’m not talking about that.”

 

“I know.” Jughead sighs. “I’ve been sleeping in the Blue and Gold office for a few weeks now.”

 

“What? Why? Huh?”

 

“You know when Mom took Jellybean and left last Spring? And I stayed with my dad because I didn’t want to leave Riverdale just yet?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Well, let’s say my dad and I don’t make the best roommates so I left.”

 

“So you’re homeless?! Does your dad know where you are?

 

“Yep, but he knows I’m not coming back home.”

 

“But who did that to your eye. Why are you wet?

 

“Turns out some guys from my dad’s gang were stripping Riverdale High’s sprinkler system of its copper. The punches were an insurance policy on my silence.”

 

Jughead watches Betty take a deep breath. He knows a lecture is coming next, he can feel it. She leans forward and rests her chin on her hands.

 

“We’ll figure this out, Juggie. But tonight you are going to take two ibuprofen and get a good night’s sleep.

She takes the empty mug from him and puts it in the kitchen sink, with a slight clink. While on that side of the room she turns off the light. With only the street lights shining in through the kitchen, she walks over to Jughead’s perch on the kitchen stool. She leans over and adjusts the beanie that miraculously stayed on and kisses him lightly on the lips. As he stands, she wraps her arm around his waist and walks him up the stairs to her room.


End file.
